Air conditioning device



Oct. 18, 1938. E. P. BRus AIR CONDITIONING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 10, 1934 INYENTOR 5 77/49 IQBI'US ATTORN Oct. 18, 1938.

AIR CONDITIONING DEVICE Filed Jan. 10, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I WE 1 mm) INVENTOR /7?//6 P. Bras ATTORNE? I E. P. BRUS 2,133,343

Patented Oct. 18, 1938 mesne assignments; to Air Conditioning Equip ment Inc.,"acorporation of Missouri Applicatimiianuaiy 1'0. 4. Serial ama l cl aim. j (Cl."62- 12 9 I'P II My invention relates .to an air conditioning; device and more particularly to a novel cooling means'in combination with an air conditioning. I

device.

One object of my invention is to provide an;

eflicient cooling means for use tioning device.

a novel air conditioning device which maybe made in small sizes so that portable units mayl be constructed. I

Other and further objects of myinve ntion will appear from the. following description. In general; my invention contemplates the cooling of a condenser or a heat exchanger through which the refrigerant fluid flows by the evaporation of water or other suitable liquid so that the latent heatof vaporization -may -be utilized forcooiing purposes. The evaporation is aided in my invention by a reduction of pres-' sure which not only assists in the evaporation but is used as a means for jetting the liquid to be evaporated into a fine spray. In the accompanying drawings which for part of the-instant invention and are, to be read in conjunction therewith, and .in-whichlike ref-- erence numerals are used to in the various views: I I I Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of an air. conditioning device embodying one mode of car-. rying out my invention.

Figure 2 is asectional view taken one. :lin 2--2ofFigure 1. I a Figure 3-is an enlargeddetail view of the water spray. -m I Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of an air conditioning de'vicaembodying another mode of carrying out my invention.

Figure Sis a'sectional view taken on a line i'rigerating coil 2 in proximity to which a blower fan 3, driven by an electric motor 4 or other moisture precipitated from the air due to its being chilled belowfgthe dew point. A sultable motor I is corineeted todrive a compressor 8 and a vacuum pum 9; 3 The refrigerant fluid in the form of the invention shown in Figure 1 indicate like parts is compressed in compressor 8 and passed through line i0. through a condenser coil or. heat exchanger coil 1 l, which is providedwith, suitablefins l2. The refrigerant" fluid a is cooled in the condenser or heat exchange coil, il in a manner that ,will be hereinafter more fully described, and passes ,through line' 14, through surgetank l5, through line l6, through expansion valve ll, where it is expanded through refriger ating coil 2 and returnedto the compressor 8, through the line l8. A tank 20 is supplied with water 2| through filling connection 22 The condenser II is housed in a suitable casing 23:.whicl 1 is-providedatits upper end with a spray head 24 shown mostclearly in Figure 3. Spray head 24 is connected by a pipe 25 to the water 2 i in tank '20. Line 25 is controlled by valve 26 The lower portion of the casing 23.is connected to vacuum pump 9 by line 21. The discharge from vacuum pump 9 is through line-28 which. leads outside the air space being conditioned. Whena vacuum is pulled on casing. 23, the air] pressure acting on the. top ofwaterZl will. force Water through the fine spray holes 29 in. spray head 24. The water in a fine spray, being jetted into the chamber 23 in which the condenser is situated and into the space maintained under reduced pressure by vacuum pump 8, will be vaporized in the form shown in Figure l; the temperature of the compressed refrigerant fluid in: line ID will be such that the water will be completely vaporized so that all. thatissues from pipe 28 will be afine spray. It will be seen that the efiect of jetting finely divided water over the extended surfaces-of thecondenser .H and the positioning of the condenser in aspace maintained under reduced pressure causes ,a,very eflicient and very compact cooling arrangement.

The. operation. of the form of the invention shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 will be obvious from the foregoing description. The motor I is started and valve 26 is maintained closed until a vacuum or partial vacuum is applied in chamber 23. Thevalve 26 is adjusted so that the water spray is that necessary for the desired cooling effect. The motor 4 blows air over the refrigerating coil. The refrigerant fluid is compressed and cooled in condenser H and expanded in refrigerating coil 2. Moisture precipitated from the air being conditioned collects in pan 6 from which it is drained through line 30, whence In the form of the invention shown in Figures 4 s and 5, an expansion refrigerating apparatus is omitted and the entire cooling eflect obtained by the evaporation of the refrigerant liquid, which may be water or any other suitable liquid. If desired, a liquid more volatile than water may be used to increase the cooling effect. In practice, however, the device may be made of sufficient size so that water may be used. The motor is connected to drive a circulating pump 3| and vacuum pump. 9. A tank 32, containing the refrigerant liquid 33 communicates with circulating pump 3|, through line 34. The refrigerant liquid is introduced through tank 32, through pipe 35, which is provided with a sealing means 33 so that the tank 32 may be sealed after liquid has been introduced thereinto. The pump 3| circulates liquid from tank 32 through line 31, through cooling coil 38, which is provided with a drip pan 6, as before. A blower 3, driven by a motor 4 for passing air to be conditioned over the refrigeratingcoil 38 is noted. The refrigerating coil 30 is likewise provided with heat'exchange fins 5. The refrigerant fluid, after passing through the refrigerating coil 38, passes through line 39, through heat exchanger 40, similar to condenser The casing 23 is constructed as before and provided with a spray head 24 having a line 25 communicating with a tank 20, provided with water 2|- Line 25 is fitted with a control valve 26. The interior of casing 23 communicates with vacuum pump 9 through line 21. The discharge from the vacuum pump S is through line 28 which terminates in an ejector 4|. One leg 42 of the ejector 4| communicates with the interior of the tank 32. The refrigerant fluid, after being cooled in heat exchanger 40, passes through line 43 into spray head 44, whence it is sprayed as shown in Figure 4. The ejector will reduce the pressure existing within tank 32, the vapors passing from ejector 4|, through line to a point outside the space being conditioned.

In operation, the motor in the form of the invention shown in Figures 4 and 5 drives the cir-.

culating pump 3| and the vacuum pump 9. The vacuum pump 8 pulls a vacuum in the interior of the casing 23 so that the .water from tank 2| is pulled and the enlarged space maintained at reduced pressure. The water is thus vaporized, the latent heat of vaporization being taken from the refrigerant fluid circulating through heat exchanger 40. The refrigerant fluid being sprayed through the fine holes in pipe 44 also passes throug an area maintained at reduced pressure so that there is a partial evaporation of the refrigerant fluid. The vapors of the refrigerant fluid and the vapors of the water from the interior of casing 23 'pass outside of air space being conditioned, through pipe 45.

It will be seen that a double cooling eifect is achieved. We have an evaporation of water and an evaporation of the refrigerant fluid, the effect of both evaporations being to reduce the temperature of the refrigerant fluid which passes through the refrigerating coil 38.

It will be observed that I have accomplished the objects of my invention. I have provided a cooling means for an air conditioning device which is efficient and compact. The spraying of finely divided water into the zone of reduced pressure substantially necessitates the vaporization of same. Thus I am enabled to furnish the latent heat of vaporization, water being vaporized from the refrigerant fluid, then cooled. In theform of the invention shown in Figures 4 and 5, I obtain an added cooling effect by evaporation of a portion of the fluid, thus enabling the dispensation of the compression expansion, refrigerating cycle.

'This enables me to eliminate valves and to avoid the necessity of using a compressor. This has the added advantage of giving a quiet device, free from noise and, at the same time, to reduce the expense of the installation in that a small pump and an ejector are substituted for a. compressor and achieve substantially the same result in a cheaper, quieter, and more expeditious manner. This is of great importance further when a portable device is made, especially those devices designed for conditioning living spaces in the home and in the office where noise is extremely objectionable and space is at a premium.

It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employedwithout reference to other features and sub-combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of my claim. It is further obvious that various changes may be made in details within the scope of my claim without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

An air conditioning device including in combination, a housing, heat exchange means positioned within said housing, means for maintaining the housing under sub-atmospheric pressure, means for supplying liquid to said housing, a tank, a refrigerating coil, means for circulating a refrigerating medium from said tank, through said refrigerating coil and back to said tank through said heat exchange means, a spray for spraying the circulating refrigerating medium back into said tank, means for maintaining said tank under sub-atmospheric pressure, means for passing air to be conditioned over said refrigerating coil.

EMILE P. BRUB. 

